Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Pokémon Egg
This is a real challenge, isn't it? If all opponents lacked resistance, Murkrow would get bored too.
In eliminating the Beedrill, Murkrow found no pleasure in the battle, only following Cain's orders strictly.
Cain had noticed this, but he had no other choice until the leader Beedrill appeared. Cain could clearly feel the excitement emanating from Murkrow.
While gently stroking Murkrow's sleek feathers, Cain shook his head and smiled resignedly, saying, "You're really a warrior, huh? As soon as a decent opponent shows up, you get all excited like this."
"Caw, caw!" To defeat a strong opponent with our own hands is the highest form of respect. Murkrow, excited, hopped back and forth, unable to contain his joy.
Cain rubbed his head, feeling a bit of a headache. The Beedrill colony was now like a hedgehog curled up, difficult to attack.
He decided to put that issue aside for now. Looking at the sun hanging in the sky, he jumped down from the tree. Night was approaching, and if they were to face the Beedrill, it would have to wait until the next day.
He returned to the small hill he knew, lit a campfire, and, as usual, gave Murkrow a full massage.
"Murkrow, if you want to face the Beedrill leader, you still lack a bit of strength. Prepare for a tough battle!" Cain said while roasting some dried meat on a stick.
"Caw!" Hearing this, Murkrow nodded seriously; if he could become stronger, enduring a bit of hardship was nothing.
Cain smiled slightly, "Then let's start now, with some exercise after dinner." He said, while looking for two logs, each weighing about five kilograms. He tied them to Murkrow's wings with ropes he had prepared beforehand.
As Murkrow flapped his wings lightly with the logs attached, he felt a noticeable weight. What was once as easy as flying like drinking water now became much more difficult.
After a while, Murkrow finally adapted to the new pressure, needing more effort with each wing beat.
Seeing that Murkrow had already adjusted to the weight, Cain nodded, "It looks like you've gotten used to it. Now fly around this tree a hundred times."
The tree was so large that three people together could barely wrap their arms around it. Its branches extended wide, and flying around it was about 20 meters per lap.
Without hesitation, Murkrow began flying around the tree, lap after lap, not stopping...
Night fell. Cain and Murkrow, having finished their training, gradually fell asleep.
Another day had passed, four days since the last trial. Today was the fifth day, and in two days there would be another test. So regardless of whether or not they could resolve the Beedrill problem, in one more day, they would have to return.
Cain lay alone, hidden in a bush, his body flat against the ground, covered with leaves and grass, with a scarf made from pieces of cloth wrapped around his head and camouflage paint on his face. Only his eyes were visible. His body emitted a strong scent of tree sap; if someone didn't get close, it was impossible to realize that there was a person there.
Some small yellow Pokémon with red eyes flew over the bush where he was hiding, not noticing him at all, until the last of them flew by.
That's right, the person hiding was Cain.
In his previous life, as a member of Team Rocket, he had carried out all kinds of missions. This simple camouflage technique was no problem for him.
Why was he in this situation?
Because, at this moment, Cain's presence interfered with Murkrow's performance. If it weren't for protecting him, with Murkrow's speed, the Beedrill wouldn't have been able to catch him.
So Cain decided to hide, waiting for all the Beedrill to chase Murkrow, so he could then calmly escape. The Pokémon that had flown over him were, of course, the enraged Beedrill.
He waited for another ten minutes until a black Pokémon landed softly next to the bush and let out a gentle "Caw."
The Pokémon that had returned was Murkrow, who had just lured away the Beedrill.
Following Cain's orders, Murkrow maintained a steady speed, slow enough for the Beedrill to follow but not so slow that they could catch him.
When the distance was sufficient, Murkrow used Tailwind to fly at full speed, leaving the Beedrill behind and then returning to Cain's hiding spot.
Finally, Cain, who had remained completely still, slowly stood up, dusted off his clothes, and stretched his stiff legs. His untrained body was not used to staying hidden for so long.
Cain took out a black Pokéblock from his storage space and gave it to Murkrow to replenish his energy, nodding in satisfaction as a smile appeared on his face.
Now that the Beedrill colony had been lured away, he could calmly explore the center of their territory.
Walking through a forest where it seemed no human or Pokémon had stepped, Cain noticed that the ground was covered in weeds and bushes, with no clear path.
There were nibbled leaves on the trees and ground, and some branches were wrapped in silk, probably left by the Weedle in their earlier stages.
The air was filled with the smell of fresh leaves. Cain, along with Murkrow, headed straight to the center.
After walking for about ten minutes, they reached the heart of the territory. There they found an ancient tree, almost three times the size of the tree Cain usually stayed at, with a structure similar to a bird's nest but made of mud.
With Murkrow's help, Cain climbed to the edge of the nest, and when he saw what was inside, his eyes widened in astonishment.
Inside the huge nest, there were a large number of Beedrill eggs, all nearly identical.
If all these eggs hatched, they would turn into a large number of Weedle, which would eventually evolve into an army of Beedrill.
Bug-type Pokémon, although they have the disadvantage of a short lifespan, reproduce so quickly that other Pokémon can't match them.
Still surprised, Cain activated the system to scan all the data of the Pokémon eggs.
A series of data flashed quickly before his eyes; most of the eggs had a red quality, with a few orange ones occasionally standing out.
Given the huge number, there were even one or two with yellow quality.
After a while, all the data had been scanned. Out of a total of over 500 Beedrill eggs, only three had yellow quality, and twenty-five had orange quality.
Cain took a deep breath, feeling a headache. What should he do with all these Pokémon eggs? Destroying them held no value or purpose, and while Cain could be ruthless, it was only towards his enemies.
As Cain pondered, Murkrow, who was nearby, patted his leg.
"Caw, caw." Murkrow tapped his leg, raising his head and pointing toward the upper branches.
Following Murkrow's direction, Cain saw a smaller, more elaborate nest at the top of the tree.
With Murkrow's help, Cain approached the upper nest. This must have been the leader Beedrill's nest. Inside the nest were three Pokémon eggs.
He activated the system again, and the data that appeared left him speechless. Of the three eggs, two had yellow quality, and one even had green quality.
Pokémon: Weedle (Egg form) (Green)
Gender: Female
Level: 1
Type: Bug, Poison
Ability: Unknown
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Bug Bite, Focus Energy
Basic Moves: None
Learned Moves: None
TM Moves: None
Cain swallowed unconsciously. This was the first time he had seen a green-quality Pokémon before it was born. Although it was just a Weedle, when a Pokémon had green quality, the limitations of its species were much smaller.
This egg must be the child of the leader Beedrill. Seeing the quality of these three eggs, the leader Beedrill's quality must be yellow, or even green.
In quality inheritance, unless something unusual happens, a Pokémon's quality is usually within a similar range to its parents.
This means that if the parents have yellow quality, their offspring will be at least orange, and generally yellow. If they are especially talented, they could even be green.
If the parents have different qualities, there will be various combinations, but the lowest quality will be no more than one level below the lowest parent, and the highest will not exceed the highest parent by more than one level.
So, the parents of the green-quality Weedle egg likely had yellow quality and might even be green.
Cain took a random piece of cloth and wrapped the green-quality Weedle egg in it. He tied it firmly to his back and jumped lightly to make sure it wouldn't fall.
Pokémon eggs can't be stored in the storage space, as they would lose their vitality and become dead eggs. The storage space is generally for inanimate objects; if something alive is placed inside, it dies instantly.
Cain wouldn't let a green-quality Pokémon egg slip away. Whether he used it himself in the future or sold it to Team Rocket or someone else, he could get something valuable in return.
As a former Pokémon hunter, Cain was entirely familiar with these kinds of operations.
(End of Chapter)